Back-To-School For Students And Parents As CMS Remote Learning Begins

Drew Bollea,

CHARLOTTE, NC – It was back to school for more than 150 thousand students at Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools on Monday.Β Β 

Leanne Morgan’s daughter is in the 3rd grade at Oakhurst Steam Academy. They treated this morning like a regular school day.Β 

β€œShe’ll start with the whole group video call and then she’ll go into a small group for math,” said Morgan.

Except her day was done from home

β€œShe can manage around everything. All by herself,” said Morgan.

Her day had very few issues, but the same couldn’t be said for thousands of other students.Β 

β€œThere is confusion a lot of times around the log in and it can take a little bit of time to get through,” said Derek Root, the CMS Chief Technology Officer.

The state website that districts use to log children into the system crashed for several hours. CMS officials say the state has resolved the problem.Β 

β€œAll students who attempted to log on will be counted as present,” said CMS Superintendent Earnest Winston.

β€œWe are excited for the first day of school to welcome back our 3400 students,” said Glenn Starnes II, the Principal at South Mecklenburg High.Β 

Starnes II says about 62% of the teachers worked from school today. The students, at home.Β 

β€œWe are operating as though all of our students are on campus. We are doing regular walks on campus. Our bells are still running so that our teachers know when they are ready to release class,” said Starnes.

As thousands of students are learning from home. Parents, like Leanne,Β  are scrambling to make it work.Β 

β€œWe’ve got to make ends meet somehow,” said Morgan.

She’s now looking for a 3rd shift job so she can manage her daughter’s education and pay the bills.Β Β 

β€œMy main concern at first was getting her situated. And now I’m going to be struggling to find some work,” said Morgan.

CMS says they’re still working to secure funding to buy hotspots for children who don’t have home access to the internet. They’ve distributed thousands of hot spots so far, but wouldn’t say how many are still needed.